Felix Novus Annus, nunc emendi —

The Dealmaster: New Year’s Eve edition

Save your memories with a Sony Alpha Nex-F3K camera kit!

A fine and pleasant New Year's Eve to you all, Arsians! Before we get too deep into the sauce here at Dealmaster Central, I, The Dealmaster Himself, want to get this post out to you all so that you can enter 2013 armed with powerful savings!

Our partners at LogicBuy had originally sent over a Groupon deal for a Pentax Q, but it unfortunately sold out. They have instead substituted a Sony Alpha Nex-F3K mirrorless interchangeable-lens kit, with a pair of lenses (one 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom and one 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 zoom). This is a neat way to dip your toes into more advanced photography than you get with just a little point-n-shoot, without having to commit the better part of a thousand bucks for a DSLR.

If photography isn't your thing, we're still ringing in the New Year with our usual assortment of deals, including a 256GB Samsung 840 Pro for about $0.90/GB. There's also a good deal on a Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS watch, if you want some help with that New Year's Resolution to start running (seriously, I have a Forerunner, and gamifying my jogging with charts and graphs is the only thing that got me to do it!).

Lee Hutchinson
Lee is the Senior Technology Editor at Ars and oversees gadget, automotive, IT, and culture content. He also knows stuff about enterprise storage, security, and manned space flight. Lee is based in Houston, TX. Emaillee.hutchinson@arstechnica.com//Twitter@Lee_Ars

...Recommending a 4GB Xbox 360 is something that should never happen. No one cares about the price on those, why would you even recommend them? It is like recommending syphilis because you found a place where it is on sale.

...Recommending a 4GB Xbox 360 is something that should never happen. No one cares about the price on those, why would you even recommend them? It is like recommending syphilis because you found a place where it is on sale.

...Recommending a 4GB Xbox 360 is something that should never happen. No one cares about the price on those, why would you even recommend them? It is like recommending syphilis because you found a place where it is on sale.

...Recommending a 4GB Xbox 360 is something that should never happen. No one cares about the price on those, why would you even recommend them? It is like recommending syphilis because you found a place where it is on sale.

[chuckles] ... I agree with this hyperbole.

I like the additional "Free in-store pickup" for it as well. Talk about going out of their way, what a bargain! /s

...Recommending a 4GB Xbox 360 is something that should never happen. No one cares about the price on those, why would you even recommend them? It is like recommending syphilis because you found a place where it is on sale.

With the newish ability to use a large USB drive as storage, that 4gb isn't that bad. Someone could also look at rolling their own harddrive storage, which isn't too hard on the Xbox 360.

...Recommending a 4GB Xbox 360 is something that should never happen. No one cares about the price on those, why would you even recommend them? It is like recommending syphilis because you found a place where it is on sale.

I was perfectly happy with mine for almost a year before buying a hard drive. It got me back into gaming.

With the newish ability to use a large USB drive as storage, that 4gb isn't that bad. Someone could also look at rolling their own harddrive storage, which isn't too hard on the Xbox 360.

You can only use up to 32 GB of that external drive, alas.

Everything I've found indicates that you need a certain brand/model of hard drive; it's not quite so easy to roll your own. And that ignores needing an existing drive (for the case and software to flash to the drive).

Not impossible, but I certainly decided I wasn't willing to risk the ban, much as I'd love to have several terabytes rather than a mere 250 GB.

Damn you, I bought the tv. Basically its $800 for a top end tv. I don't want the smart tv features or 3D, so its perfect. I'll sell the gift certificate, or finally get that Dell 24" LCD I've been wanting...